TWIST1 Plays a Pleiotropic Role in Determining the Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Phenotype

10 páginas, 5 figuras, 1 tabla.-- et al.[Context]:Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is one of the most aggressive human tumors; it is characterized by chemoresistance, local invasion, and distant metastases. ATC is invariably fatal. [Objective]:The aim was to study the role of TWIST1, a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, in ATC. [Design]:Expression of TWIST1 was studied by immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR in normal thyroids and well-differentiated, poorly differentiated, and ATC. The function of TWIST1 was studied by RNA interference in ATC cells and by ectopic expression in well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma cells. [Results]:ATCs up-regulate TWIST1 with respect to normal thyroids as well as to poorly and well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas. Knockdown of TWIST1 by RNA interference in ATC cells reduced cell migration and invasion and increased sensitivity to apoptosis. The ectopic expression of TWIST1 in thyroid cells induced resistance to apoptosis and increased cell migration and invasion. [Conclusions]:TWIST1 plays a key role in determining malignant features of the anaplastic phenotype in vitro.This work was supported by the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro, the Istituto Superiore di Oncologia, the Italian Ministero della Salute, the Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca, the European Community Contract FP6-36495, and the Programa Ramón y Cajal–Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Social EU Funds, Universidad de Valladolid, Spain.Peer reviewe

Split and overlapped binary solitons in optical lattices

We analyze the energetic and dynamical properties of bright-bright (BB) soliton pairs in a binary mixture of Bose-Einstein condensates subjected to the action of a combined optical lattice, acting as an external potential for the first species, while modulating the intraspecies coupling constant of the second. In particular, we use a variational approach and direct numerical integrations to investigate the existence and stability of BB solitons in which the two species are either spatially separated (split soliton) or located at the same optical lattice site (overlapped soliton). The dependence of these solitons on the interspecies interaction parameter is explicitly investigated. For repulsive interspecies interaction we show the existence of a series of critical values at which transitions from an initially overlapped soliton to split solitons occur. For attractive interspecies interaction only single direct transitions from split to overlapped BB solitons are found. The possibility to use split solitons for indirect measurements of scattering lengths is also suggested.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure

Eco-morphodynamic carbon pumping by the largest rivers in the Neotropics

AbstractThe eco-morphodynamic activity of large tropical rivers in South and Central America is analyzed to quantify the carbon flux from riparian vegetation to inland waters. We carried out a multi-temporal analysis of satellite data for all the largest rivers in the Neotropics (i.e, width > 200 m) in the period 2000–2019, at 30 m spatial resolution. We developed a quantification of a highly efficient Carbon Pump mechanism. River morphodynamics is shown to drive carbon export from the riparian zone and to promote net primary production by an integrated process through floodplain rejuvenation and colonization. This pumping mechanism alone is shown to account for 8.9 million tons/year of carbon mobilization in these tropical rivers. We identify signatures of the fluvial eco-morphological activity that provide proxies for the carbon mobilization capability associated with river activity. We discuss river migration—carbon mobilization nexus and effects on the carbon intensity of planned hydroelectric dams in the Neotropics. We recommend that future carbon-oriented water policies on these rivers include a similar analysis

Venice as a short-term city. Between global trends and local lock-ins

This paper examines the ongoing transition of Venice towards a short-term city, posited as an urban form which accommodates the dwelling practices of temporary populations as tourists, at the expenses of a stable resident population. This shift is approached through the conceptual framework of resilience, which is also explored in its political and discursive dimensions. At the base of the emergence of a short-term city, we analyse the redistributive impacts of short-term rentals mediated by digital platforms and their influence on the housing market, but also the related entrenchments of a local policy agenda supporting the resilience of the industry itself above that of the city as a living organism. After illustrating the development of the hospitality sector in the city fabric over the last four decades and presenting the historical challenges that Venice has been facing in regard to its capacity to retain a stable population, we seek to unravel the debate on ‘the future of Venice’, which confronts local and global agents defending a ‘conservationist’ approach for Venice as an ineluctably tourist city, with social actors who claim for the defence of residence – and therefore for a ban on STR – as a necessary condition for a socially resilient alternative

Air entrainment in the primary impact of single drops on a free liquid surface

Air-bubble entrainment produced by the impact of water drops on a liquid pool is investigated with the use of high-speed imaging. A wide range of drop volumes and impact velocities is considered to determine how the entrainment mechanisms change with varying the impact conditions. Five different entrainment regimes are distinguished on the basis of the observed flow phenomena. Their characteristic features are described in terms of bubble formation, crater evolution, jetting and secondary drop ejection. A regime map is reconstructed in the Froude-Weber space. Results obtained in the present study show good agreement with the phase diagrams reported in the literature and contribute to complete the scenario of the entrainment regimes. Quantitative data about the size and the residence times of the entrained nuclei are also presented

Towards the Monitoring of Underground Caves Using Geomatics and Geophysical Techniques: 3D Analyses and Seismic Response

Analyses of climate change, due to its impact not only on the weather and the environment but also on human health and life, are one of the most important study activities made in recent years. There is relatively high confidence that glacial melt and heavy rainfall events will continue to increase. These climate-related events carry a microseismic signature that can guide monitoring activities. In the last decade, there have been growing applications of long-term continuous ambient seismic noise systems to monitor landslides and potentially unstable rock sites. This work reports some of the activities made during a project performed under the Department of Excellence on Climate Change (2018–2022), funded by the Italian Ministry for University and Research (MUR), in order to improve environmental seismic analyses. The selected test site is the Bossea Cave (NW Italy), where two seismic stations were installed. The goals were to use these stations to understand and study climate change events above the Bossea Cave, analyzing the data from a geophysical and geomatics point of view. Starting with UAV flights and photogrammetric processing to obtain a 3D model of the cave, both ambient seismic noise and microseismicity analyses highlighted an important effect of air temperature and precipitation on the seismic response of the monitored rock mass overlying the Bossea Cave. In particular, a clear effect on the ambient seismic noise spectral content and the peak frequency of the microseismic events driven by temperature and precipitation was found during the warmer monitoring months, with almost zero delays in the seismic response. This is a preliminary but important study, even if longer monitoring data and thermal modeling efforts are needed to fully understand this seasonal variation

Registro Nazionale Malattie Rare: malformazioni congenite e acido folico

It is estimated that in Italy at least 3% of babies are born with some congenital malformation. Scientific evidence demonstrates that the intake of folic acid by a woman prior the conception and during the early stages of pregnancy plays a role in preventing neural tube defects and severe birth anomalies due to the lack of neural tube closure at either the upper or lower end during the third and fourth week of pregnancy. The intake of folic acid during the periconception period can reduce the risk of other neonatal malformations such as congenital heart defects, urinary tract anomalies, oral facial clefts, limb defects. The Italian Network for Folic Acid Promotion, established in 2004 and coordinated by the National Centre for Rare Diseases of the Istituto Suepriore di Sanit? has elaborated and diffused a recommendation for the periconceptional supplementation of folic acid. This article provides an overview of the available scientific evidence on the effect of folic acid in the prevention of congenital malformations and possible public health strategies.Si stima che nel nostro Paese circa il 3% dei nati siano affetti da malformazioni congenite: L\u27assunzione di acido folico prima del concepimento e nelle prime fasi della gravidanza ha un effetto preventivo riguardo ai difetti del tubo neurale, severe anomalie congenite determinate dalla mancata chiusura del tubo neurale che si completa nella terza-quarta settimana dal concepimento, e di altre malformazioni quali difetti cardiaci congeniti, anomalie congenite del tratto urinario, labio-palatoschisi, difetti in riduzione degli arti.Il Network Italiano Promozione Acido Folico, costituitosi nel 2004 e al cui coordinamento collabora il Centro Nazionale Malattie Rare dell\u27Istituto Superiore di Sanit?, ha elaborato e diffuso una raccomandazione per la supplementazione peri-concezionale di acido folico. Questo lavoro fornisce una revisione delle evidenze scientifiche disponibili in letteratura sull\u27efficacia dell\u27acido folico nella prevenzione di difetti congeniti e possibili strategie di sanit? pubblica

Registro nazionale malattie rare. Epidemiologia di 44 malformazioni congenite rare in Italia

The main purpose of this report is to provide health operators and the scientific community with information about the epidemiology of some Rare Congenital Malformations (RCMs). Statistical analysis was carried out on data of selected RCMs, detected both among births and induced abortions following prenatal malformation diagnosis. Data were collected by Birth Defects Registries according to homogeneous approaches, in order to produce valid estimates of prevalence rates

Overdiagnosis and overimaging: an ethical issue for radiological protection

Aims and objectives: This study aimed to analyse the key factors that influence the overimaging using X-ray such as self-referral, defensive medicine and duplicate imaging studies and to emphasize the ethical problem that derives from it. Materials and methods: In this study, we focused on the more frequent sources of overdiagnosis such as the total-body CT, proposed in the form of screening in both public and private sector, the choice of the most sensitive test for each pathology such as pulmonary embolism, ultrasound investigations mostly of the thyroid and of the prostate and MR examinations, especially of the musculoskeletal system. Results: The direct follow of overdiagnosis and overimaging is the increase in the risk of contrast media infusion, radiant damage, and costs in the worldwide healthcare system. The theme of the costs of overdiagnosis is strongly related to inappropriate or poorly appropriate imaging examination. Conclusions: We underline the ethical imperatives of trust and right conduct, because the major ethical problems in radiology emerge in the justification of medical exposures of patients in the practice. A close cooperation and collaboration across all the physicians responsible for patient care in requiring imaging examination is also important, balancing possible ionizing radiation disadvantages and patient benefits in terms of care